A New Kind of Chemistry

pq writes "Reasearchers at VCU, Pennsylvania State have created "superatoms" of aluminium and iodine that behave like the alkaline earth metals. From the article: "Our production of such a species is a stirring development that may lead to new compounds with a completely new class of chemistry and applications". Another article on Biomedcentral"

Comments

'Nanotech' implications?

[tod_miller]

I have been waiting for some kind of similar announcement, something that will have some impact in nanotech thinking circles. Although this area of nanotech is completely hyped and misrepresented by every company involved in it.

The goal is to use these clusters as building blocks to tailor the design and formation of materials with selected properties.

They have basically coated aluminium atoms with iodine atoms, and produced a molecule that acts like a huge iodine atom, but with hybrid properties.

In the future 'chemical computing' (not computational chemistry) can be achieved and allowing us to build primitive components of a mass production system (basically a highly iterative and controlled series of reactions, building larger and larger blocks, that progress down a conveyer belt).

Anyway, it sounds good, and I cannot wait until the real application of this becomes app'nt (breaking the current nm barrier in CPU tech so we can hit 10ghz at consumer level).

Just one step closer

[AtariAmarok]

Just one step closer to the transparent aluminum whale-aquarium.

The stories seem to contradict each other

[benhocking]

From the Times Dispatch story:

When the number of iodine "ornaments" is an even number, the "superatom" is very stable and doesn't react with other elements, even oxygen. If the number of "ornaments" is odd, the superatom is reactive.

From The Scientist:

For example, when the 14-atom aluminum cluster combines with three iodine atoms, it creates an ion with overall negative charge which is actually extremely stable. Such novel properties provide the potential for creating radically new nanoscale materials, Khanna said. He noted that the work on clusters containing iodine could have important medical applications, given the element's key role in a number of biochemical pathways.

I'm probably misreading something, but it seems that since there are 3 iodine atoms in this molecule, it should be reactive and not stable (at least acording to the first article).

It will be interesting to see if this opens up broad new areas of chemical engineering, but since the technology seems somewhat old, I am skeptical that this is as revolutionary as it sounds to my undereducated ears.

Super-atoms?

[AlgaeEater]

Looks like they are more like molecules (or rather metalic latice fragments). Calling them 'super atoms' is a little misleading; it make them sound like a man-made atom when they are not. Ionic-alloys might be better terminology. Interesting though, if the process can be made cheap enough we may be able to mimic the properties of incredibly rare metals and use a man-made substitute in their stead. AE

Re:Ugh... Get your facts

[AlgaeEater]

Corrosion. def: a state of deterioration in metals caused by oxidation or chemical action.

Corrosion tends to be used for a continual process of deterioration whereas the oxidation coating formed on aluminium is very stable and prevents any further corrosion. A similar thing happens with the carbon lattice in diamond; it is a hydrogen coating rather than oxygen though.

AE